Appendix 6: Using HPC PowerShell

Windows HPC PowerShell is built on Windows PowerShell technology and provides a powerful command-line interface and a scripting platform to enable the automation of administrative tasks. Windows HPC PowerShell is installed by default on the head node and can also be installed on other cluster nodes or on a client computer as part of the utilities available with Microsoft® HPC Pack.

The exact steps to start Windows HPC PowerShell depend on the operating system of the computer where HPC Pack is installed and whether the computer is a head node in the cluster or is running only the client utilities.

Note

By default, starting in Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8, the HPC PowerShell shortcut is not pinned to the Start screen after installation of HPC Pack. To pin the shortcut to Start, see Adding apps, websites, and more to Start.

Click Start, point to All Programs, click Microsoft HPC Pack, and then click HPC PowerShell.

Depending on your operating system and your version of HPC Pack, you can also add the Windows HPC PowerShell snap-in from Windows PowerShell.

Important

If you are running HPC Pack 2012 or later on an operating system earlier than Windows Server 2012 or Windows 8, it is recommended that you start HPC PowerShell from the shortcut installed with HPC Pack, not by adding the snap-in from Windows PowerShell. Depending on the version of .NET Framework that is installed on the operating system, you might see errors when adding the snap-in. In cases where you need to add the snap-in, first set an environment variable that configures an HPC PowerShell activation policy to use the .NET Framework 4.0 runtime.

To view a list of the cmdlets that are available in HPC PowerShell, type the following cmdlet:

Get-Command –PSSnapin Microsoft.HPC

or

Get-Command *-Hpc*

To view basic help information for a specific cmdlet, type:

Get-Help <cmdlet>

Where <cmdlet> is an HPC PowerShell cmdlet.

To view detailed information for a specific cmdlet, type:

Get-Help <cmdlet> -Detailed

Where <cmdlet> is an HPC PowerShell cmdlet.

To view the help information on the screen one page at a time, type | More at the end. For example, if you type:

Get-Help New-HpcJob –Detailed | More

Only the first page of the detailed information for the New-HpcJob cmdlet will be initially displayed. As you press Spacebar or Enter, more information will be displayed. To stop viewing the help information, press Q.